MH-230 cLOUDDEAD - TenTen finds cLOUDDEAD building on all of the elements that defined their debut: razor sharp vocal interplay, quirky found sound samples, ambient drone dreamscapes, lyrics that walk the line between observational and confessional, and a fair share of nosdam drums slowed to a growl. Doseone and why? never take the cheap way out. Their lyrics may range from blurry and buried to sharp and surfaced, but each and every line has meaning. The music and production are collaborative, featuring Doseone's knack for bottling emotion, why's self-taught multi-instrumentalist efforts, and odd nosdam's flair for borrowed genius. Individually, Doseone, why? and odd nosdam are as prolific and fearless as anyone in today's new music scene, but together as cLOUDDEAD they are able to create music that captures all of the promise of their individual talents in an unequaled sound.

When cLOUDDEAD found themselves back in the studio together to record their second (technically first) full-length, a lot had changed for them and the U. S. since their self-titled pre 9/11 debut in 2001. Each artist had spent three years honing their skills while working on various side projects both together and apart from each other. They’d also spent the time reflecting on the War on Terror and the inner workings of U.S. society. As a result their second album Ten was much more directed and accessible. However, when one describes one cLOUDDEAD album as more accessible than the other, that doesn’t mean it’s anything close to candy corn and cream puffs. It simply means a defined chorus actually shows up on track, a theme seems to run through the album as a whole, and the lyrics are a little less impossible to sift through for meaning. It seems the state of the nation galvanized cLOUDDEAD into exploring a solid message to profess with their music. On Ten that message poetically picks apart the absurdities of consumerism, our highway ridden landscape, and the culture of war and violence they see our culture steeped within. Odd Nosdam has made efforts to add structure and consistency to his crackling tape loops while why? and Doseone spit abstract rhymes and metaphors that seem less disconnected than they did on the previous release. On “Son of a Gun” for example, the song starts out with a funny skit about a young man training at gunnery school. Doseone eventually breaks in and remarks “dying men keep rifles in cello cases/known with a beer as the dear erasers,” and then goes on to add “may their kids always play murder weapons.” The song Rifle Eyes reads like a whirlwind tour of the states. The imagery of the song invokes an American nightmare with lines like “the x-ray of someone’s tumored skull left to scream doom from the gutter.” It also chastises our decadence by bringing attention to the “southern-cali orange trucks headed to somewhere this winter/one armed men changing tires in the shoulder/for pretty ladies and their well dressed daughters.” While some were certainly a little disappointed with cLOUDDEAD’s move away from the sprawling works on their first album, it’s hard not to respect levels on which Ten works. For those individuals looking for a sophisticated protest album, or a more compact version of their self-titled release, look no further. - Amp Camp